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No. 03,150. PatenedApr.26,1898

UNITED STATES FFlCE.

PATENT SAMUEL MILLS, OF BUOKEYE CITY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES M. MILLS, OF SAME PLACE.

RAILROAD-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 603,150, dated April 26, 1 898.

Application filed February 12, 1898- Serial No. 670,130. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL MILLS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buckeye City, in the county of Knox and State of'Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Signals; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it.

appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in railroad-signals; and it consists in, first, a partially-turnin g rod or lever which is loosely attached to one of the ties and which has its inner end to project upbetween the rails, while its outer end is made crank-shaped and provided with a friction-roller,'an operatingwire which extends along the track and is connected both to a vibrating lever and a spring, the lever being given any suitable shape or color, so as to attract attention, and provided with a bell which is made to-ring as the lever vibrates; second, a slotted endwisemoving lever which is pivoted'at its inner corners, so that it can be pressed outwardly from against the inner side of the rail, combined with a spring for returning the lever to position, and'a pivoted lever which extends under the rail and is connected to the wire which operates the vibrating lever; third, in the arrangement and combination of parts, which will be more fully described hereinafter, whereby as the train approaches a crossing the vibrating lever is set in motion and made to ring the bell, so as to give notice of the approach of a train.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a signal which embodies my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective of the endwise-moving slotted lever and its attachments. Fig. i is a perspective of the vibrating lever and its attachments. Fig. 5 is a detail view.

A represents the rails, and B the pivoted partially-turning rod or lever which is loosely connected to one of the ties, and which rod or lever has its inner end turned upward in between the rails, so as to be operated by the cow-catcher,levers, or other attachments upon track and is connected at its forward end to the lever G, which projects from under one of the rails, and the vibrating lever H and the spring J. This wire being stretched taut and the crank-shaped end E of the rod or lever B resting upon the wire, the inner end of the rod is held in a raised position, so as to be struck both by the cow-catcher and by other attachments which may be provided upon the locomotive for that purpose. After the locomotive has passed by the tension of the wire F causes the rod or lever B to spring back into position.

I At or near the crossing a signal-lever H is placed, which may be of any desired shape, size, or construction and given any color, so that its movement will instantly attract attention. This lever is pivoted upon a suitable support K, provided therefor, and secured to the inner side of the lever is the bent portion L, which sets out from the lever H and is pivoted at its lower end in the opposite wall of the support K. Just inside of the pivot at the lower end of this part L is a bend N, and to this bend, after the wire F has passed through a piece of gas-pipe O, the wire is fastened, so that when the wire is moved endwise the lever H will be caused to move at its upper end in the opposite direction. Just beyond the lever H, upon the part L, is placed a spiral spring J, which gives to the wire and the lever a reciprocating movement, both to return the parts to position and to cause the lever H to rapidly vibrate.

In order to protect the spring in the lower portion of the part L from the weather, a cap or cover D is placed over the support K, and which cap or cover, while excluding snow and ice, also serves to prevent the parts from being tampered with. Secured to the inner end of the support K is a piece of gas-pipe O of any suitable length and through which the wire F passes. This pipe serves to protect the wire and also to prevent snow and ice from passing into the support K.

Placed inside of the track and bearing against the inner side of one of the rails is a tread-lever P, which is operated by the flanges of the wheels, and which lever P is slotted at Q, so as to allow the lever to move forward and downward as it is operated by each of the wheels upon that side of the car. As it is only desired that this lever P shall be depressed by the wheels in order to operate the signal, this lever is pivoted to the ties at two corners only, and hence the lever can tilt slightly away from the rail when the flanges of the wheels are passing between it and the rails. \Vhen the lever is forced away from the rail by the flanges of the wheels, it is not depressed and has no endwise movement, and hence the signal is not operated. In order to return this leverP to position against the inner edge of the rail, the coil-spring R is applied to one corner of the rail, and the pressure of this spring against its top will cause the lever to snap back into position as soon as it is left free to move.

As is shown, the ends of the lever incline upwardly, while the center portion is perfectly level, and projecting above this level portion is a flange S, which is beveled at one end and at the other end projects beyond the flat top portion of the lever and is curved outwardly at its end away from the rail, so that when the flanges of the wheels pass in between the edge of the rail and the end of the flange the lever will be forced away from the rail v without operating the signal.

Pivoted under the rail is the lever G, and to the outer end of this lever the wire F is attached, while to its inner end is secured the pin T, which projects up through the slot Q in the forward end of the lever I, so that when the lever I is depressed and has its front end forced forward it turns the lever G upon its pivot, so as to operate the wire F and thus cause the lever II to vibrate rapidly back and forth.

Secured to the lever II and preferably between it and the part L is the bell U, which as the lever vibrates is made to ring, so as to call attention to the fact that a train is approaching.

The lever II will be placed in close proximity to or at a crossing, while the lever P and the partially-turning lever B may be placed at any suitable distance therefrom, so as to cause the approach of a train to be made known any desired distance in advance of the train.

If desired, there may be attached to the tender a rod or lever which will extend down, so as to strike against the upturned end 0 of the rod or lever B, so as to operate the lever H after it has been struck by the cow-catcher, and there may also be attached to the locomotive a lever which is connected to the whistle at its outer end and which lever will extend down under the locomotive, so as to strike against the upturned end C and thus cause the whistle to be blown.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A slotted tread-lever, pivoted at its inner edges, and provided with a flange at its top where it bears against the rail, and a spring for returning the tread-lever to position after having been forced by the flanges of the wheels away from the inner edge of the rail, combined with a pivoted lever which is operated by the endwise movement of the tread-lever when it is depressed by the flanges of the wheels, a connecting-wire, and a suitable signal connected to the forward end of the wire, substantially as described.

2. A tread-lever pivoted at its inner edges so as to be allowed to tilt or -move away at its top beyond the inner edge of the rail, and which lever is provided with a flange which projects above the top of the rail, combined with a spring which is applied to the edge of the lever which is adjacent to the rail, for returning the lever to position, whereby the lever is given a tilting movement away from the rail when the train moves from one direction, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL MILLS.

\Vitnesses:

THOMAS E. JEFFERSON, A. J. WoRKMAN. 

